October 2014 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

City projects should create jobs





Mayoral candidate Alan Wilson`s latest campaign announcement was made Thursday at City Hall. Wilson said the biggest issue facing Peterborough is well-paying jobs, and too many young people are leaving the city for work.





If elected, Wilson will push for a Peterborough Content Clause in all future tender requests for city projects. This clause will add points to a bid that involves local hiring or purchasing. Even companies from outside the city could score points by pledging to hire or purchase locally, he said.





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[Ally]

Condo rental demand in the GTA sees slowest pace of growth in two years





A record 7,132 condo apartments were rented across the GTA in July, August and September, but demand for all those granite-and-glass units now lighting up the city`s skyline appears to be easing, says condo research firm Urbanation.





While the number of condo leases signed was up 10 per cent in the third quarter over the same period a year ago, that`s about half the rate of growth seen during the first half of 2014.





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[Ally]

Toronto scares off big U.S. home builder





The CEO of a U.S. luxury home builder says his company considered expanding into Toronto`s condo market but was scared off by the high number of investors buying real estate in the city.





Toll Brothers Inc., which designs, builds and finances homes in 19 states, `snooped around` in the city about three years ago, but was concerned that 60 to 70 per cent of condo buyers didn`t plan to live in their homes, said CEO Douglas Yearley.





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[Ally]

Kingston and environs a burgeoning market for first-times and downsizers





They come for an education or for the lifestyle, and some come merely for the waterfront views.





Whatever their reason, home and condo buyers are heading east ` looking for second homes, a place to retire, or an investment property with rental potential. And they`re finding those in Kingston and its surrounding areas.





`I think Kingston is an incredible place to live. The city`s putting a lot of money into the amenities,` says Greg Newman, vice-president of the Kingston Home Builders Association.





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[Ally]

Experts warn new Toronto condos could become 'urban slum'





While Toronto's housing boom rolls on, some of the housing itself is falling apart.





Canada's biggest city has more than 100,000 units under construction as developers and investors seek to cash in on condo prices that are up 25.7 percent in the city over the past five years. The trouble is, many buildings are so poorly constructed that some residents fear that the money-spinners of today could become the slums of the future.








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[Ally]

The problem with N9 termination notices





Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act allows a tenant to give the landlord a notice of termination indicating their intention to move out. No reason is required. Generally the notice period must be a minimum of 60 days, with the effective date of termination on the notice being the last day of a rental period, or if there is a lease term remaining, no earlier than the last day of the lease term.






The Act requires the tenant to use an LTB approved form, called an N9, or at least a form that substantially complies with the N9. The Act says that such a notice must identify the rental unit, the parties, the termination date and be signed by the person giving the notice...the tenant.





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[Ally]

While Toronto's housing boom rolls on, some of the housing itself is falling apart





TORONTO ` Toronto has more than 100,000 units under construction as developers and investors seek to cash in on condo prices that are up 25.7% in the city over the past five years. The trouble is, many buildings are so poorly constructed that some residents fear that the money-spinners of today could become the slums of the future.





Glass panels have been falling off newly built Toronto condos, including the luxury Shangri-La and Trump towers and a dozen or more lesser-known buildings across the city. New buildings suffer from water leaks and poor insulation, making them ill-suited to Canadian weather.





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[Ally]

GTA needs half a million jobs by 2029





TORONTO ` The Greater Toronto Area will need to fill close to 520,000 jobs over the next five years due to retirement and economic growth, but a good chunk will be low-paying and temporary work, according to a new report.





The Toronto Region Board of Trade and United Way Toronto released a study Wednesday warning about the challenges job seekers currently face, which include youth underemployment and unemployment, the growing gap between neighbhourhoods, and a lack of quality employment.





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[Ally]

Ottawa office market might be on the upswing





The report says `healthy activity` in Kanata, the ByWard Market and the Glebe helped the city`s overall vacancy rate drop from 10.6 per cent to 10 per cent in the third quarter of 2014.





While those submarkets saw vacancy rates fall, and consequently asking rent go up to around $17.25 per square foot, the story is not the same in the downtown core, according to Colliers.





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[Ally]

Vaughan's downtown starts rising from ground






When SmartCentre mall mogul Mitchell Goldhar first ventured to the City of Vaughan back in 1994 to look at a parcel of land for sale, he found a three-hole golf course and a driving range surrounded by fields.







From there, he could see the future. It was a sprawling, single-storey mall serving the growing Region of York.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

GTA needs to fill half a million jobs by 2019





TORONTO ` The Greater Toronto Area will need to fill close to 520,000 jobs over the next five years due to retirement and economic growth, but a good chunk will be low-paying and temporary work, according to a new report.





The Toronto Region Board of Trade and United Way Toronto released a study Wednesday warning about the challenges job seekers currently face, which include youth underemployment and unemployment, the growing gap between neighbhourhoods, and a lack of quality employment.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Latest Toronto condo news





The focus on the sheer numbers of condominiums rented`a record 22,302 units over the four quarters up to Q3-2014`is often on the rapidly growing downtown areas of the `416`, mostly in the neighbourhoods stretching east and west of Yonge Street. Indeed, 78% of all rentals in the past year have been in the amalgamated City of Toronto, 47% which were within the former City's boundaries.





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[Ally]

NCC approve's Tunney's Pasture master Plan in Ottawa





Under the plan, the existing three million square feet of government office space at the site will remain. The plan also calls for an additional two and half million to three million square feet of office space to be built, along with a minimum of 90,000 square feet of commercial space.





One of the plan`s centrepieces is a plaza near the future Tunney`s Pasture LRT station, which is slated to open by 2018. The plaza will feature updates on the progress of construction in the area with `before and after` imagery, as well as amenities such as pop-up retail shops, restaurants and cafes, food trucks and a farmer`s market.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

INovia Bets on BlackBerry's Waterloo with first VC office





A venture capital firm is opening an office in Waterloo, Ontario, in a first for the industry, as it bets that the birthplace of BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY) can foster the next generation of Canadian technology companies.





Montreal-based iNovia Capital is moving one of its partners to the Waterloo region, 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Toronto, according to managing partner Chris Arsenault.





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[Ally]

Mexico outbid Ontario for new Ford plant, union president says






Ontario appears to have lost a high-stakes bidding war over car manufacturing jobs, as Unifor, the auto workers` union, says Ford Motor Co. will build a new type of engine in Mexico instead of Windsor after talks with the federal and provincial governments broke down.







Unifor national president Jerry Dias said he was `disappointed` that the months-long negotiations failed. The project would have provided Windsor`s Ford plant with between 900 and 1,000 jobs, he said.





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[Ally]

Reports highlight significant economic impact of mining sector





The Ontario government is investing in new research by the mining industry to guide long-term development of this economically vital sector.





Two independent reports, funded in part by Ontario, highlight the significant economic impacts ` including job creation ` of the province`s mineral sector activity, and provide advice on how to maximize this impact:

• The Ontario Mining Association (OMA) has released a report estimating the economic impact of a new gold mine in a relatively remote area of Northern Ontario to guide planning for all aspects of such a mineral development, including job training and creation. See: An Au-thentic Opportunity: The Economic Impacts of a New Gold Mine in Ontario
• 
  The Canadian Association for Mining Equipment and Services for Export (CAMESE) has released the first study that assesses the economic impact of the province-wide mining supply and services sector in Ontario, and identifies potential challenges as well as opportunities for growth. See: Pan-Ontario Mining Supply and Services Sector Economic Impact Study

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Election melting away council support for Hamilton LRT





The high-profile mayoral battle over LRT is looking increasingly irrelevant as more councillors go public with opposition to the project.





Council reaffirmed its request for $811-million in provincial cash to build the lower city light rail line last year, with retiring Russ Powers the lone dissenting vote.





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[Ally]

New group is selling Hamilton to the globe





Layla Abdulrahim was about halfway through a business degree at McMaster before she ventured beyond the "bubble" around the university to explore the city.





The Bahrain native loved what she found and decided to make the city her permanent home.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Bylaw chief on student neighbourhoods, licensing review





Neighbourhood concerns about `illegal rooming houses` near Algonquin College have prompted city bylaw staff to review the possibility of rental licensing and other enforcement options for near-campus neighbourhoods.





The review was requested earlier this summer by College ward. Coun Rick Chiarelli, who asked staff to look at options including rental licensing, which Ottawa doesn`t use but some other Ontario municipalities do.





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[Ally]

Pickering council approves Durham Live rezoning





On Sept. 15 council voted 4-3 to endorse an application to re-zone three pieces of land in the Bayly and Church Streets area, to build a huge tourist destination.





`We are very pleased that council has put their support behind Durham Live,` said Steve Apostolopoulos, president of Pickering Developments. `We can now move to the next stages of the planning process for this exciting tourist destination. This project has tremendous potential for the City of Pickering and the Durham Region.`





Read the full article here.